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Taxi for Jesus by Gina Grate Pottenger
Hadi*, of Lebanon, may drive a taxi as his occupation, but his preoccupation is sharing Jesus with as many passengers as he can by playing the audio Bible in dozens of languages, as well as handing out Bibles, tracts and copies of the JESUS film on DVD.He wasn’t always so zealous about evangelism. In fact, he spent half a lifetime simply figuring out what it means to follow Jesus Christ.
Hadi was raised in another religion, but when he was 16, a friend invited him to a Christian church, and he quickly identified himself as a Christian.
However, the teaching at this church didn’t lead him into a personal, transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. It was simply another religion for Hadi to follow, and he didn’t read the Bible.
As a result, he struggled in his new beliefs.
"There wasn’t a very good relationship between me and Jesus. I wasn’t aware of what Christianity means or what holiness means at that time, so I wasn’t really aware of myself as a Christian.”
Without proper discipleship, Hadi floundered in his relationships and decisions. That’s how he ended up married to two women at once.
In Hadi’s former religion, it is acceptable to have multiple wives. After having four children with his first wife, he fell in love with a second woman. He approached the leaders at his church about the situation. They encouraged him to be with both women at the same time, but said he would need to go through an informal divorce ceremony with his first wife to make the dual marriage ethical.
After the “divorce,” Hadi made a habit of spending half the week with the first wife and their children, and then half of each week with his second wife. His relationships with his first wife and children deteriorated.
Then his daughter Sarah began attending the Bouchrieh Church of the Nazarene. Hadi decided to visit and see what it was like. Gradually, the biblical teaching transformed his mind and heart. He began to read his Bible.
Soon, Hadi became convicted by the Holy Spirit about his dual marriage. He prayed and asked Jesus what he should do.
One afternoon he was napping. In a place between dreaming and waking, he felt a hand on his shoulder. This sensation gave him a joy he had never experienced before. A hand took his and led him down the stairs of his home in the vision, but it felt like he was floating.
“I felt such a joy that so far I cannot really verbalize it, I cannot give any explanation to it,” Hadi said, with tears filling his eyes. “I woke up from my nap and I felt I am a totally different person [than] who I was before the nap. Hadi died and another Hadi lived. A new Hadi lived and Jesus Christ came into my life.”
Shortly after this experience, Hadi’s second wife called him to ask him for a divorce. He tried to share Christ with her, but she wouldn’t listen.
The divorce allowed him to return to a Biblical family situation with his first wife and children. Now the entire family attends the Nazarene church, and are growing in their faith, as well as their harmony with each other. They have shared their faith with people from their home village and a new house group is now meeting there.
As Hadi grew in a genuine and healthy relationship with Jesus, doors flew open to share his faith with his taxi passengers. People who knew about his occupation would give him Bibles – boxes and boxes of them. One person gave him 22 boxes. Another gave him three boxes, another five. He had Bibles in many languages of potential passengers. He also was given an audio Bible in dozens of languages. And he carried Christian music.
Whenever a new passenger enters his car, Hadi asks the person if it’s OK for him to play the Bible. Most passengers say yes. Hadi selects the language of the passenger. Later in the ride, he hands the passenger a Bible or a tract in his or her language.
“Jesus just gave me the green light to start evangelizing Him and now today I am a postman for Jesus Christ.”
Hadi has a warning for fellow believers: the most dangerous thing you can do is justify your personal choices and actions through a twisted understanding of God’s Word. He also warns against following teachers of the Word who lead believers into false teachings.
*Last name omitted for security.
Taxi para Jesús by Gina Grate Pottenger
Hadi*, of Lebanon, trabaja conduciendo un taxi, pero su ocupación es la de compartir a Jesús con tantos pasajeros como le sea posible mediante la audio Biblia, pasándola en decenas idiomas dentro de su vehículo y repartiendo biblias, folletos, y copias de la película JESÚS en DVD.Pero él no siempre fue un entusiasta del evangelismo. De hecho, él pasó la mitad de su vida tratando de entender el significado de ser un seguidor de Jesucristo.
Hadi creció dentro de otra religión, pero cuando él tenía 16 años un amigo lo invitó a una iglesia cristiana, y prontamente él se pudo identificar como cristiano.
Sin embargo, las enseñanzas de su iglesia no lo condujeron a una relación personal y transformadora con Jesucristo. Se volvió simplemente en otra religión para que Hadi siguiera, y no se dedicó a leer la Biblia. Como resultado, él se encontró en conflicto con sus creencias.
"No existía una buena relación entre mí y Jesús. Yo no tenía un entendimiento del significado del cristianismo o de la santidad en aquél momento, así que no tenía una verdadera identidad propia como cristiano."
Sin un discipulado apropiado, Hadi tambaleaba en sus relaciones y en sus decisiones. Así fue que se encontró casado con dos mujeres al mismo tiempo.
En la religión anterior de Hadi, el tener múltiples esposas es algo aceptable. Luego de tener cuatro hijos con su primer esposa, él se enamoró de una segunda mujer. Él se acercó a los líderes de su iglesia para consultar en cuanto a la situación. Ellos le aconsejaron permanecer con ambas mujeres al mismo tiempo, pero que debería llevar a cabo una ceremonia informal de divorcio con su primer esposa para que el matrimonio doble fuera ético.
Luego del "divorcio", Hadi se hizo el hábito de pasar la mitad de su semana con su primer esposa e hijos, y la otra mitad junto a su segunda esposa. Su relacionamiento con su primer mujer e hijos comenzó a deteriorarse.
Luego, su hija Sarah comenzó a concurrir a la Iglesia del Nazareno de Bouchrieh. Hadi decidió visitar y ver qué tal era. De a poco, las enseñanzas bíblicas transformaron su mente y su corazón. Él comenzó a leer su Biblia.
Prontamente, Hadi recibió la convicción del Espíritu Santo en cuanto a su doble matrimonio. Él oró y le preguntó a Jesús qué debería hacer.
Una tarde, él se encontraba tomando una siesta. Entre el sueño y el despertar, él sintió una mano sobre su hombro. Esta sensación le trajo un gozo como el que jamás había experimentado antes. En su visión, una mano tomó la suya y lo dirigió por las escaleras de su casa, pero él sintió como que flotaba.
"Sentí un gozo tan grande que ni siquiera al día de hoy lo puedo verbalizar, no puedo explicarlo", dijo Hadi con lágrimas en sus ojos. "Me desperté de mi siesta y me sentí como una persona completamente diferente a la que era antes de mi siesta. "Hadi murió, y un nuevo Hadi había nacido. Un nuevo Hadi surgió cuando Jesucristo entró a mi vida".
Brevemente después de su experiencia, la segunda esposa de Hadi lo llamó para pedirle el divorcio. Él intentó compartir a Cristo con ella, pero ella no quería escuchar.
El divorcio le permitió regresar a una situación familiar bíblica junto a su primera esposa e hijos. Ahora la familia entera se congrega en la iglesia nazarena, y están creciendo en su fe, así como en armonía unos con otros. Ellos han compartido su fe con gente de su aldea y hoy en día se existe un grupo de estudio bíblico que se reúne allí.
Al crecer en una genuina y saludable relación con Jesús, se abrieron un montón de puertas para compartir su fe con sus pasajeros del taxi. Las personas que sabían acerca de su ocupación le comenzaron a dar biblias, cajas y cajas de biblias. Una persona le dio 22 cajas. Otra le dio tres cajas, otra le dio cinco. Él tenía biblias en varios idiomas para potenciales pasajeros. Él también recibió audio biblias en decenas de idiomas, y también comenzó a llevar consigo música cristiana.
Siempre que un nuevo pasajero entra a su auto, Hadi le pregunta si le parece bien que él pase su audio biblia durante el viaje. La mayoría de los pasajeros dicen que sí. Hadi selecciona el idioma del pasajero. Luego durante el viaje, él le entrega al pasajero una biblia o un folleto en su idioma.
"Jesús me dio la luz verde para comenzar a evangelizar para Él, y hoy en día soy un mensajero para Cristo".
Hadi tiene una advertencia para otros creyentes: lo más peligroso que uno puede hacer es el justificar elecciones personales mediante un entendimiento retorcido de la Palabra de Dios. Él también advierte acerca de seguir a imparten falsas enseñanzas de la Palabra.
*Su apellido fue omitido por motivos de seguridad.--Traducido por Ed Brussa.
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Missionary profile: Brian and Erin Ketchum
Brian and Erin Ketchum are missionaries serving in the France District since 2009.Brian is the district facilitator, serving as a support role to the churches and ministries, as well as working alongside the national leaders throughout France. Brian is also currently serving as interim pastor to the Versailles Church of the Nazarene, and working with a team of lay leaders to give direction and support to the Montpellier church.
Erin is a stay at home mom and is involved in some of the ministries at the Versailles church.
They have three children: Grace, 5; Eliott, 3; and Nora, 1.
Engage: How did you first recognize God’s call to be involved in missions?
Brian: Both Erin and I grew up as missionary kids in different parts of the world. After moving back to the United States for college, we knew that God was calling us to use our experiences of living overseas for His purposes. We were not sure exactly what form that would take until a few years later. We were pastoring a new-start church outside of Los Angeles and had been approached about serving as missionaries. Our first reaction was "let's go" but we realized that was based on our own desires to be back overseas. We became convinced that God was asking us to stay on at the church where we were serving. His answer was not necessarily “no," just "not yet”. A few years later we were approached again. We committed the decision to prayer and council from our community as we had before. This time, we were flooded with a sense of peace to trust in His timing and commit ourselves and the ministry where we were serving to God’s capable care. From that point on God continued to open doors and remove obstacles, and we have been serving Him in this manner ever since.
Engage: What is your favorite aspect of what you do in your present assignment?
Brian: Working alongside of our people has been extremely rewarding. We’re continually amazed at how God has prepared us for this time of service.
Engage: What are some of the challenges that you face in carrying out your work?
Brian: France is a very secular country with a deep and tortured history with Christianity. As atheism and agnosticism are the prevalent attitude, it is difficult for the average French person to see the need for God in their lives. Government leaders in both small and large cities are doing everything they can to oppose the installation of churches and church organizations. This attitude is reinforced in the French education system where religion is presented to the student as being a crutch for weak and feeble-minded people. This societal and cultural reality creates an environment where isolation becomes a significant challenge for anyone working in ministry.
Engage: Please share a story of a significant event or moment that has happened in your current assignment.
Brian: We moved to France when our Grace was only 18 months old and, since then, we’ve added Eliott and Nora to our family. While maybe not seen as a significant event or moment ministerially, our lives continue to be blessed by God’s hand on our family.
Engage: How do you maintain a close relationship with God and your family in the midst of the demands of missionary service?
Brian: Personal and family devotions, while not completely routine yet, are a way that we try and keep God at the center. Also, we make an intentional effort to set aside family time. Like most ministerial jobs "quitting time" doesn’t really apply, so we take time to do special and even normal things with our kids.
Engage: What are the rewards of what you do?
Brian: Seeing national leaders on the district take on more responsibility and ownership for the ministry of the church in France. The work has been slow, but with a renewed sense of unity on the district, the church is better positioning itself to be a relevant witness for Christ.
Engage: What are some aspects of the culture where you live that you have come to love or embrace?
Brian: We love that the French enjoy being outdoors. They take time to enjoy their family, their country and their food. We’re reminded of this most significantly on Sundays. While we are rushing around trying to get things ready for church, the French take Sundays to be with family, or to be outside taking leisurely strolls. Even if the vast majority aren’t doing it to observe the Sabbath, we’ve appreciated the example of truly resting.
Engage: What do you like to do for fun?
Brian: With our kids at such young ages, doing anything outside that burns off a little energy is fun. We’ve started getting into camping which we hope to make a regular family excursion.
Engage: What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
Brian enjoys playing and listening to music. Erin is passionate about painting and other artistic outlets.
Engage: What advice would you have for others exploring a possible call to missions, or embarking on their first missionary assignment?
Brian: Recognizing that God is and has already been at work in the lives of the people you are called to serve, come with hearts and minds ready to listen and learn. Unmet expectations is one of the most common challenges faced during the beginning months/years. If you know you are going to be in one place for more than one year, try not to come with expectation of all that you can do to better that place, but rather take the time to learn the culture and about the people and find out what their visions are in order to better come alongside what God is already at work doing in their lives.
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Portugal church attracts neighborhood through social projects by Gina Grate Pottenger
Cascais, Portugal – Pastor Josue Reis and his wife, Eloize, have helped to lead the Alcabideche Church of the Nazarene in reaching out to its community by partnering with a local government organization called The Wheel.Through proposals for free music lessons to children and daily food delivery to people in need, the Nazarene church in November was awarded grants from The Wheel to fund its social programs.
The Wheel is a neighborhood government organization which has numerous businesses and institutions, as well as nonprofit organizations, in its membership. The members have representatives on its council, and also contribute financially to the organization. Members can make presentations requesting grants, and the representatives vote on funding the social projects.
For two years prior to approaching The Wheel, the Reises had already been offering free music lessons to children in the three neighborhoods surrounding the church. Last fall they presented the program at a Wheel meeting. As a result, a member organization – which happened to be Muslim – agreed to purchase a piano, guitar and drums to expand the church’s lessons. The Reises teach 21 students three days a week. Now, two of the children are in turn teaching new students themselves.
The Wheel also provides boxes of food to the church, which then distributes them daily to five different families who are in need.
The church members, which numbered about 10 when the Reises began pastoring 18 months ago, now average about 50 people in worship attendance. They have gotten involved in the outreach through delivering the food packages.
“We would speak at the church about being a community, so the people at the church helped give out the food to the families,” Eloize said.
Being part of The Wheel has also opened doors for sharing about their mission with the council members and organizations. At a Wheel reception, the Reises made a presentation about the love of God. Josue continues building relationships in the community by serving on The Wheel’s committee around sports and leisure activities, while Eloize serves on a committee that works in social assistance.
“The church is well known in the community now. We have the doors of our church open every day of the week,” said Josue.
Although most of the children in the music classes, as well as the families who receive food, have not started attending the church, a few have. They have baptized four of the children who took music lessons, as well as one mother. In March, they’re going to baptize one more music student.
Miguel and Carlitos are two of those students. Josue taught Miguel how to play the drums and they began to develop a solid relationship. Sometimes Miguel and his younger brother Carlitos would even spend the weekend with the Reises. This turned out to be providential, when last summer the boys’ father died suddenly. Their mother was unable to care for them effectively, so the boys temporarily stayed with the Reises in their apartment.
“We were able to be there and talk about God with them and share things,” Eloize said. “Even up until now every weekend they stay in our apartment and go to church with us.” Miguel plays drums in the church’s worship team, and is growing in a relationship with God. And they’ve just started to teach Carlitos how to play base.
Josue and Eloize have big dreams for more community services in the future. They would love to begin offering computer classes for people who don’t know how to work a computer. They also want to launch a ministry to married couples to build marriages around a deeper relationship with God.
Eloize recently started a ministry to women in the neighborhood, and about 30 women attend the once a month gathering, where they play games, talk and hear an evangelistic message.
“They feel more free when they’re just with other women, because they might not want to go and talk to the pastor,” she said.
Very quickly, some of the women began attending the church. One of the women was a very lonely person who had lost connection with her family. She was drawn to the love demonstrated in the women’s group. As a result she was attracted to the church, accepted Christ, and started coming to worship services. Now the church is praying with her for a restoration of her family relationships.
“God has a big plan to rescue humanity,” Josue said. “The essence of this plan of rescue is love, and the church is here to continue this plan. Our mission is to love the love of God here to the people.”
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Born again at 30,000 feet by Bernie Slingerland
On a plane to Panama that left Guatemala three and a half hours late, it is needless to say I was not very excited about the situation, but the Lord had one of His divine appointments planned. There was a man seated next to me who started to talk with me; his name was Guy. He was born and raised in Israel, and he has lived in Panama for the last 18 years. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family, but he no longer practices.We began to talk about Panama, then Guy wanted to know about my vocation, so I explained I am a missionary in the Church of the Nazarene. I asked him if he celebrated Christmas. He said they have some special dinners and the rest. Then, I shared my personal testimony, which led to sharing the Gospel. I asked him if he had heard the Gospel before and he said no. I asked him if he would like to be “born again.” He responded, “Yes, I would!” So while the plane was halfway from Guatemala, Guy accepted Jesus Christ. I just happened to have a copy of the JESUS film in Spanish, Hebrew, English, and other languages. Guy was excited to know he could watch it in Hebrew. More importantly he was excited to be “born again” in the Christmas season.
Two days later, a similar situation happened to my daughter Hannah Slingerland. She was flying to Panama from Dallas, Texas, in the U.S., and her flight was delayed three and a half hours in Dallas. When they finally boarded the flight, a 30-year-old man from the U.S., who was born in Panama, was seated next to her. He wanted to talk, and shared about Panama and his work in the U.S. He asked Hannah about what she does in the U.S., and why she going to Panama. Hannah shared she is a student at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, studying childhood education. Also, she was going to Panama to be with her family who are missionaries. The man began to ask more questions about the mission, and he shared that his father is a pastor. He said that he has not been walking for the Lord, and he believed he needed to do something about it. So Hannah shared the Gospel with him, and invited him to pray and receive Jesus as Lord of his life. He did, and he was very grateful for the conversation and prayer.
It does not matter whether we are on the ground or in the air, people need to know they can be “born again." -- Bernie Slingerland is a missionary in Panama, serving as the Mesoamerica Region coordinator of evangelism. He serves with his wife, Rhonda, and their two daughters, Hannah and Abby.
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Heart of God: For all peoples by Howard Culbertson
“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord” -- Zephaniah 3:9Grim details of coming judgement fill the little book of Zephaniah. Mixed in, however, with images of fiery destruction and of places being laid waste comes Zephaniah 3:9 and words about redemptive transformation available to all.
Through Zephaniah, God declares His readiness to cleanse all people everywhere of defilement. He wants to do that in order that all may fully embrace Him. The purifying of lips is described in a few other places in the Bible. That image symbolizes a cleansing made necessary because, as Hosea 2:17 and Psalm 16:4 note, people’s prayers to false gods have defiled them.
The possibility raised by Zephaniah of Gentile people groups everywhere turning to Yahweh may have jarred at least some Jews of the 7th century B.C. Nonetheless, “peoples” seems purposefully plural. Indeed, God further emphasizes the global implications of the word by saying “all of them.”
That “all of them” phrase builds on older verses like Genesis 12:3 where God tells Moses, “Through you all peoples will be blessed.” The phrase also looks forward to anticipate Jesus’ “whoever believes” declaration in John 3:16. In the words of Zephaniah 3:9, God may have had in mind the response to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost when people of cultural groups from around the Mediterranean called on the name of the Lord. Zephaniah 3:9 also announces the door is open for the conversion of Gentiles like an Ethiopian government official (Acts 8), a Roman Centurion (Acts 10-11) and a jailer and his family in Philippi (Acts 16).
Four times in his three chapters, Zephaniah mentioned “the Day of the Lord.” That phrase, used as well by other biblical authors, refers to End Times. Here, in an Old Testament prophet’s words, is affirmation that the blessings of the Day of the Lord will be for all peoples. Isn’t the image in Revelation 7:9 of worshipers “from every nation, tribe, people and language” therefore a logical outcome of Zephaniah 3:9?
Tragically, at least one-third of the world’s population has yet to hear of the One on whom Zephaniah says they must call for salvation. To the Romans, the Apostle Paul asked: “How shall they call on Him in whom they have not heard” (Romans 10:14). As Paul was writing those words, was Zephaniah’s phrase “all of them may call on the name of the Lord” on his heart?
God stands ready. Indeed, He seems anxious that all peoples everywhere call on Him. The sad thing is that many, many people groups still have not heard. Paul’s solution to that dilemma is that we must go to them and tell them. If Zephaniah were here today, wouldn’t that be actually what he would encourage us to do?
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